Evaluation

1) Did you enjoy the workshop day? What were you best bits and why?


I really enjoyed the workshop as it was a unique experience working in such a professional atmosphere and working with very experienced and intelligent people in their respective roles.

There were many bits of the shoot I thoroughly enjoyed, both in front of the camera and behind the camera. Performing a dance routine in front of the camera was something new for me, and although I was nervous at the start, I later became confident and started enjoying the dance. I most enjoyed shadowing the director and learning exactly what their job was. Directing is one of the main things which appeals to me, and shadowing a director at work was a valuable learning experience.



2) What have you learnt from participating in each of the prelim tasks?

I have learnt a variety of different things from this prelim task which will prepare me well for the music video if I were to continue doing media.

Task 1 (Analyse a music video)- Analysing a music video allowed me to understand the typical conventions of a music video, although the prelim was a remake, I can apply my learning of music videos on the A2 task.

Task 2 (Audition video)- I understood the importance of a lip synch and how it is made to look as realistic as possible and that required the performer to know the lyrics and be able to sing the song.

Task 3 (Learn your performance)- Performing is vital for certain music videos, and therefore every single performer needs to know their part well as otherwise it'll stand out and look odd on camera and this can ruin the music video. This was one of the reasons for having as many rehearsals as possible.

Task 4 (Plan and organise your costume(s)) - Costume was important in our prelim as we tried to replicate 'Wings' so we had to try to get our costume to be as similar if not the same as the ones worn by the 4 main artistes and the background dancers, which was possible in some cases whereas with others we had to compromise.

Task 5 (The one-day workshop)-  I learnt the importance of teamwork in a shoot, as each person was required to do their job smoothly and swiftly to ensure there were no problems on set. I also learnt how time keeping was vital to shoots as a schedule with the different shot types and set ups have to be followed to ensure the shoot can be completed and completed as successfully as possible.

Task 6 (The workshop edit)- This where I learnt the difference between editing continuity sequences and music videos, as timing was crucial in a music video, especially with the lipsynch. I also learnt how you have to be able to adapt with different types of shots if the initial ones do not work.





3) Are you pleased with your footage and your edit? Is it how you expected to look?

I am very pleased with the footage, not only is it very professional but the 4 main girls were able to pull off a similar look to the the original 4 and this was something which stood out for me. The whole crew were able to replicate the music video in terms of the shots. With our final edit we stuck to the original when it came to the order we arranged our shots, however there were times where some of the shots didn't work too well and as a result we had to use different types of shots. For example we used a close-up instead of a mid-shot solely because it worked better.

Some parts looked how I expected it to, for example the beginning where each singer have their own background with a specific theme, such as the flowers. However there were parts turned out differently, which were still good but not as I expected such as the scene in the blue grunge. But this did give it our own unique touch to the final edit.

4) How do you think your prelim experiences will impact on you approach to next term's music video coursework?

The prelim task has helped emphasise the importance of thorough planning throughout the whole process and as a result during the music video coursework I will put a lot of work into this to ensure the whole process is carried out well.

My confidence level when it comes to music video has increased a lot, not only will I be able to do the work behind the camera but over the prelim task I have developed the confidence to work in front of the camera too.

I have also learnt the key skills when editing, such as lining up the audio waves to ensure the lipsynch is accurate.